Report of identification-delineation of sectors with high risk of human-bear conflicts in the National Parks of Maiella, Prespa and Rodopi Mountain Range
Assessment of the distribution and numbers of bears in the Maiella National Park, the Northern Pindos National Park, the Prespa National Park and the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park
Based on the project’s planned interventions, at least two specific products and tourist services offered will be appropriately selected for the «Bear Friendly» labeling program in the Greek project areas.
The aim of the report is to analyze different product and services present in the MNP area and to select at least two of them (maximum 4) which meet a number of criteria set by the program regarding the good practices for the brown bear conservation.
The deliverable contains the rationale and the templates that experts in the field will use to evaluate the companies interested in enrolling in the «Bear Friendly» scheme.
This document describes in detail the criteria for the attribution of the label for two categories: beekeepers and farmers.
UTH’s experts organized three informative meetings via physical presence, informing the beekeepers of the three National Parks for the rationale, the process, and the requirements of the proposed labeling scheme.
Schedule and training material of Bear Friendly workshops and seminars for beekeepers and farmers organized by WWF in Maiella National Park.
The deliverable presents Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis for each of the four National Parks in the frame of LIFE ARCPROM.
The present deliverable has been prepared within the frame of Action C1 (Stakeholder consultation and involvement) of LIFE ARCPROM and includes the final Report of the Action which has been implemented in three Greek National Parks (Rodopi Mountain Range National Park, Prespa National Park, Northern Pindos National Park) and in Maiella National Park, Italy.
Presentation of the first training course organised by the University of Thessaly to improve the capacity of the staff of the National Parks and other agencies regarding the management of human–bear conflicts.
Presentation of the second and third training course organised by the University of Thessaly to improve the capacity of the staff of the National Parks and other agencies regarding the management of human–bear conflicts.
As part of Action C2.3 of the LIFE ARCPROM project, four transnational exchange visits were conducted between 2022 and 2024, with the objective of enhancing cross-border collaboration and knowledge-sharing among scientists, park authorities, and conservation organizations working on the protection of brown bears in Southern Europe.
In this report, the first chapter describes the methodology that is carried out during the management of an actual or probable poison-bait use incident, along with the Protocol Management and Recordings of the Actual and Probable Poisoning Incidents and the management of each case in the study area of all three Greek National Parks. The second chapter is about the results of the implementation of the Protocol Management and the operation of the ADUs, in each Greek National Park, during the years 2021-2022. More than 12 actual incidents were recorded in all three parks this period of time.
The deliverable presents training & operation of ADUs, one in each Greek National Park. Poison detection dogs are especially trained to search & locate in the field several types of poison baits, poisoned carcasses & also already poisoned animals.
A first aid kit containing all the necessary drugs, relevant equipment & instructions at the first critical stages, will be provided to livestock farmers operating in the targeted areas. The four-page brochure contains comprehensive instructions in cases of shepherd dogs poisoning as also the contact details of the vets in Prespes area.
A first aid kit containing all the necessary drugs, relevant equipment & instructions at the first critical stages, will be provided to livestock farmers operating in the targeted areas. The four-page brochure contains comprehensive instructions in cases of shepherd dogs poisoning as also the contact details of the vets in Rodopi area.
The devastating effects of poisoning have now become one of the main threats to biodiversity. The consequences affect both wildlife & domestic animals, such as Livestock Guarding Dogs (LGDs). The loss of the latter, has also an indirect (negative) impact on brown bear conservation, since they are used as a damage prevention method, which reduces human-bear conflicts. Based on the experience gained in other LIFE projects (LIFE Antidoto, Italy, LIFE Neophron, etc.), the use of Anti-poison Dog Units (ADUs) is a very good method for minimizing the poison baits impact.
The illegal use of poisoned baits continues to be a common practice in Greece (Velevski et al., 2015; Ntemiri & Saravia, 2016; Pantović & Andevski, 2018), despite being prohibited by law since 1993. This practice has major implications in carnivorous and scavenging wild animals, such as the fox, the wolf, and among others the brown bear.
The illegal use of poisoned baits continues to be a common practice in Greece (Velevski et al., 2015; Ntemiri & Saravia, 2016; Pantović & Andevski, 2018), despite being prohibited by law since 1993. This practice has major implications in carnivorous and scavenging wild animals, such as the fox, the wolf, and among others the brown bear.
This report summarises the findings of Action C4 of the ARCPROM program. The aim of this Action was to formulate and test a pilot Bear Dog Unit, as an additional management tool in cases of bear-human interactions. The Unit consists of two Karelian Bear Dogs, trained to track and bark at bears, along with their handlers. The KBD team could work alone in the presence of a young sub adult, but the best way to use the dogs, in order to achieve their maximum potential, is with the support of a trained and well-equipped team (BET) to secure the safety, mainly, of the handlers.
Protocol for the management of the interventions of the Bear Emergency Teams in the Maiella National Park
In Greece, the mixed Bear Emergency Team (BET) with NECCA & Callisto staff, had to intervene in only three (3) specific cases (out of 117 in total) with bears exhibiting over an extended period of time behavioural habituation patterns specifically related to human related food resources conditioning. In Italy, 150 out of 173 BET interventions (87%) are related to the management of problem bear situations, carried out following the reference protocol for the Apennine brown bear. In two cases, special treatments were needed to manage 2 problem bears.
Presentation of the methodology & the procedure followed for the planning of the action and for the selection of the volunteers. Description of the volunteers’ program in both Prespa&Rodopi areas, its results and suggestions for its continuation next year
WWF Italy, in collaboration with Maiella National Park organized a camper tour called “the coexistence tour”. Five villages in the Maiella National Park area were visited.
The sections of this report present the methodology for attracing volunteers and the planning and implementation of volunteer activities for the year 2022, as well as the participation on of long-term volunteers.
The sections of this report present the methodology for attracing volunteers and the planning and implementation of volunteer activities for the year 2023, as well as the participation on of long-term volunteers.
This report presents the technical report from Greece and Italy with the lessons learned during the project and recommendations for future repetition of the action. The report is divided into two sections. The first part presents the data from Greece and the second part presents the data from Italy.
Activity report for 2021 including list and maps of sites where e-fences, bear-proof hen houses & iron doors and bear-proof refuse containers were installed in both Greek and Italian project areas.
Activity report for 2022 and 2023 including list and maps of sites where e-fences, bear-proof hen houses & iron doors and bear-proof refuse containers were installed in both Greek and Italian project areas.
Activity report for 2024 including list and maps of sites where e-fences, bear-proof hen houses & iron doors and bear-proof refuse containers were installed in both Greek and Italian project areas.
This deliverable presents the geospatial distribution of livestock farmers who met the criteria for joining the network within the boundaries of Prespa National Park and the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park. Additionally, it includes a list of the evaluated Livestock Guard Dogs (LGDs) that were donated to the network members.
In Greece, incidents that required the interventions of the BETs and the use of specific deterring devices occurred in two (2) out of three (3) National Parks (project sub-areas). In Italy, three aversive devices—the Critter Gitter, Pump Horn, and food traps with pepper spray—were purchased to address problematic bear behaviours during the LIFE ARCPROM project.
Report of the first Workshop relating to Action C10, organised by the Maiella National Park (MNP) with the support of WWF Italy.
The LIFE ARCPROM project, specifically Action C.10, aims to promote coexistence between humans and bears by introducing the “Bear Friendly” label. This initiative targets primary sector producers, such as beekeepers and organic farmers, as well as hospitality providers in key national parks, including Maiella in Italy, and Northern Pindos, Prespa, and the Rhodope Mountain Range in Greece.
This document reports the list of producers and entrepreneurs, granted with the Bear Friendly label which has been established in both Italy and Greece under the LIFE ARCPROM project. Bear Friendly grant holders are mainly Beekeepers and Agricultural Farmers that met the criteria set by the project beneficiaries and in particular by WWF Italy and the Maiella NP in Italy and University of Thessaly in Greece.
This deliverable has been developed in the framework of Action D.2 of the LIFE ARCPROM project and presents the results of a questionnaire distributed to the participants before starting the first educational webinar addressing stakeholders involved in conserving the bear population and managing bear-human conflicts.
Action D3.1 concerns the monitoring of the effectiveness of the conservation actions implemented in the framework of the LIFE ARCPROM project and specifically the action: C8. C8 action aim at mitigating and/or neutralizing the conditions that create negative human-bear interactions in the project area of application.
This deliverable focuses on the process of participatory scenario development, which is foreseen in Action D5 (Follow-up surveys on the perception and behaviour of the stakeholder groups) as a mechanism for monitoring the interaction, collaboration and joint action of stakeholder groups in Platforms.
This deliverable presents the questionnaire which will be used in Action D5 as an instrument for monitoring the perceptions and behaviour of stakeholder groups in Platforms during the project.
This report includes two sections, one for Greece and another for Italy, which present the analysis of questionnaire data gathered in Action D5 (Follow-up surveys on the perception and behavior of the stakeholder groups). All details on authors, methods and results are included in the Greek section for Northern Pindos National Park, Prespa National Park, and Rodopi Mountain Range National Park, and in the Italian section for Maiella National Park.
This report includes an initial section with a general overview of the main outcomes of Action D5 and two separate parts, one for Greece (Prespa National Park, Northern Pindos National Park, Rodopi Mountain Range National Park), and another one for Italy (Maiella National Park). The initial section will start with an overview of how the outcomes of the action addressed its objectives, with a concentration on the two main topics of Action D5, namely, participatory scenarios and the survey (questionnaires). The parts of the report devoted to each country will present a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis based on the main results of questionnaire data analysis, which will provide insight for the After-LIFE plan of LIFE ARCPROM.
The report describes the concept evolution and presents the visual communication identity of the program as curated by the faculty of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia.
Greek version of the main poster of the project, promoting the project’s key message concerning human – bear coexistence and bear conservation importance.
Italian version of the main poster of the project, promoting the project’s key message concerning human – bear coexistence and bear conservation importance.
The leaflet contains information & guidelines in Greek and English for locals or tourists that encounter a bear.
The leaflet will contain information & guidelines in Italian and English for locals or tourists that encounter a bear.
Five roll-ups in Greek forming a small portable exhibition regarding brown bears & the conditions under which human-bear coexistence becomes possible
Five roll-ups in Italian forming a small portable exhibition regarding brown bears & the conditions under which human-bear coexistence becomes possible.
Gadgets produced in Greece & Italy to attract the attention on the bear conservation efforts (2020-2022)
The leaflet includes information concerning the compensation system of the Hellenic Agricultural Insurance organization (ELGA). Additionally, it presents information regarding the use of damage prevention measures like the Livestock Guarding Dogs and the electric fences.
The leaflet describes appropriate rearing and training of shepherd dogs & includes information on history, evolution and phenology of the traditional breeds of LGD, sanitary & health issues, vaccination programming etc.
The leaflet includes information concerning the illegal use of poisons, the negative effects it has of wildlife, nature and local economy, what can be done in order to tackle their use and useful phone numbers.
E2.12“Why Bears?” Greek version of the film
Why is it important to protect the brown bear? A quick answer is because they are “keystone species“, “indicator species“ and “umbrella species“, but what does that really mean? The video was originally created by the “Why bears? Team”. In the context of the LIFE ARCPROM project it was dubbed into Greek.
E2.13 “Why Bears?” Italian version of the film
Why is it important to protect the brown bear? A quick answer is because they are “keystone species”, “indicator species” and “umbrella species”, but what does that really mean? The video was originally created by the “Why bears? Team”. In the context of the LIFE ARCPROM project subtitles in Italian were added.
BEAR ARTS -part of which is exhibited on this calendar, presents visual works that have been created from artists and art students initiated from the development of the LIFE ARCPROM actions. Art functions as a meeting point that activates artistic, educational outcomes and processes empowerment and information. BEAR ARTS is coordinated from instructors of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the University of Western Macedonia.
To inform and raise awareness for improving the conditions of coexistence between brown bears and humans, three TV spots were created by the University of Western Macedonia, in cooperation with CALLISTO Wildlife and Nature Conservation Society, in the framework of the project LIFE ARCPROM.
A short documentary was created in the framework of the LIFE ARCPROM project, which presents the main objectives of the project, its development and the actions it includes.The documentary was published in Greek and English versions.
Through this Replicability Plan, we try to share the knowledge and experience gained during the implementation period of the LIFE ARCPROM project with all those interested in the coexistence of humans with wildlife and, in particular, with iconic species such as the Brown Bear. In the text that follows, we attempt to identify the types of activities, actions, and interventions that have the highest potential for replication to other areas or conflict resolution efforts.
Through Action E.5. in Greece, three Paths of Coexistence were created, one in the Prespa National Park and two in the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park. The presentation summarizes the activities taken as well as the educational material created as part of the Action.
The report contains the search, delineation & mapping of thematic “bear trails” inside the protected areas of Rodopi Mountain Range & Prespes National Parks.
The report contains the search, delineation & mapping of thematic “bear trails” inside the protected area of Maiella National Park.
The leaflet provides information in Greek for the Prespa National Park & the brown bear and contains propositions for environmental education activities that can be carried out at the trail.
The leaflet provides information in English for the Prespa National Park & the brown bear and contains propositions for environmental education activities that can be carried out at the trail.
The guide addressed to educators provides detailed information in Greek for the Prespa National Park & the brown bear and contains propositions for environmental education activities that can be carried out at the trail.
The leaflet provides information in Greek for the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park & the brown bear and contains propositions for environmental education activities that can be carried out at the trail.
The leaflet provides information in English for the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park & the brown bear and contains propositions for environmental education activities that can be carried out at the trail.
The guide addressed to educators provides detailed information in Greek for the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park & the brown bear and contains propositions for environmental education activities that can be carried out at the trail.
This report presents in detail the theoretical framework used to create the educational
material of Action E.5 Environmental Education. This is followed by a section reporting on the methodology of the implementation of the action and the creation of the educational material.
The present report presents the accompanying educational material that has been created in the framework of Action E.5.
The University of Thessaly, the University of Western Macedonia and the Maiella National Park signed a pact within the framework of the LIFE ARCPROM project, committing themselves to the adoption of green public procurement criteria by public associated beneficiaries.
